Ankeny boys’ cross country coach Jon Lindaman has been in this situation before.
Lindaman will have to replace two-time Class 4A state champion Ethan Zuber, who is now competing for Missouri. Zuber led the Hawks to an eighth-place finish a year ago after helping them to back-to-back third-place finishes in 2022-23.
It won’t be easy, but at least Lindaman knows what to expect. He previously coached Tim Sindt to a pair of state titles in 2017-18, and in 2019 the Hawks failed to qualify for state.
“It is almost impossible to replace some of the seniors we have lost the last couple seasons,” said Lindaman, whose team is 11th in the Class 4A preseason rankings from the Iowa Association of Track Coaches.. “We were fortunate to have not just great runners, but really driven and motivated kids. Hopefully, the way they went about their business and the way they balanced fun and work, rubbed off on this year’s group. We try hard to cultivate leadership in our program by encouraging younger kids and JV kids to take on leadership roles.”
This year’s team might be better equipped to handle the challenge of replacing Zuber and fellow varsity regulars Tate Brownsberger, Justice Rathje and Nicholas Robie. The Hawks return a trio of runners with state-meet experience in Brett Augustine, Jackson Kaiser and Isaiah Smith.
Those three are part of a large senior class.
“We currently have 76 kids on the roster, led by a senior group of 20 kids,” Lindaman said. “I don’t think we will miss a beat this year. The senior class has done things the right way for three years, and many of these kids understand that it is now their time to step up and lead this team.”
Smith will be seeking his fourth trip to the state meet. He earned a spot on the awards podium as a sophomore, when he placed 15th in a time of 15 minutes 49 seconds.
Smith was ranked among the top 15 runners in Class 4A for most of last season, when he posted five top-five finishes in his seven races. After placing third in the district meet at Southeast Polk in 15:57, Smith didn’t have his best race at the state meet, where he took 37th in 16:15.
Smith bounced back in the spring, though, to help Ankeny to a second consecutive Class 4A championship on the track. He won a second straight title as a member of the 4×800 relay.
Smith placed 13th in the 1,600 with a time of 4:16.74. He also ran on the Hawks’ 10th-place distance medley relay.
Now, Lindaman is expecting big things out of Smith.
“I genuinely believe we will once again have a runner that can put himself in the mix for a state title,” Lindaman said. “We have been very fortunate to have had four of the last eight state champions at Ankeny, so guys like Tim and Ethan have established a culture of success. Ike has worked tirelessly behind Ethan for three years pushing him in every workout. You just can’t outwork Ike, and he is as coachable as kids come. These qualities generally equate to a lot of success. He has a couple state track and Drake (Relays) titles, and now it’s Ike’s time in cross country and I can’t wait to see him compete.”
Augustine, meanwhile, placed 97th at the state meet in 16:56. Kaiser finished 115th in 17:28.
Lindaman also thinks that duo will take a step forward to become consistent scoring runners for the Hawks, who will open their season on Tuesday by competing in the Jaguar Invitational at DMACC.
“Brett and Jackson are both looking to build on great junior seasons. They both have been great in summer workouts, and I am really excited about this team and excited to see what they can do,” Lindaman said. “On paper we lost a lot, and because of that I assume many teams will overlook us this year. I think we will surprise a lot of people. We have a really nice mix of kids, and when you have a front runner like Ike, that always helps team scores tremendously. Our 2-10 spots are a complete unknown right now, and any number of kids could step up and be our scoring runners. We are really excited to see how our varsity shakes out.”
Sophomores Miles Harbert, Benton Schuchart and isaiah Swanson have been training with the Hawks’ top group and should make a significant impact this season. Seniors Logan Rolling and Gideon Miller are also in the mix for varsity spots along with junior Brayden Nixt and promising freshman Gus Brown.
“This is certainly not an extensive list, and we have other kids that have worked really hard that could see varsity time for us as well,” Lindaman said. “This season will be so much fun because we have so many spots that are up for grabs, and it will just come down to who wants them most.
“Having solid numbers is always a positive thing for us. We are able to retain most of the kids that come out, letting us know that there is a positive culture among teammates. These guys push each other, encourage each other and compete with each other every day to make our team better. We had around 50 kids showing up every day this summer preparing for the season, so they should have a lot of confidence from the work they put in,” he added.